Slack adjuster



NOV. 21, H E ANDERSON SLACK ADJUSTEH Filed Aug. 51, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet;` l

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Nov. 21, 1933. H' E* ANDERSON 1,935,607

SLACK ADJUSTER Filed Aug. 3l. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 H. E, ANDERSON 1,935,607

SLACK ADJUSTER Filed Aug. 3l, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 2l, 1933.

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Y "UNETED y`S1`A1l`ls PATENT; orlucF-f'jfv Patented Nov. 2.1, 14933 y 1,935,607 sLAcK ADJUs'rEa Harley E. Anderson, Kansas City, Mo., assigner to Gustin Bacon Manufacturing Company,v Kansas City, Mo.,-a corporation of Missouri y Application August 31, 1931. Serial No. 560,284

' 5 claims. (01.188-197) The invention relates to improvements in foundationrbrake rigging and has'rparticular reference to manually operated adjusters for regulating the same to maintain the proper piston travel and brake shoe clearance. l f A An object of the invention is to provide an adjuster orl regulator of the above general character which will permit of ready installation inA connection with the brake systems now in use withoutany material change or expense. A further object is to provide an adjuster havingA association with the floating cylinder and dead levers of the foundationrigging and which will permit a rapid, accurate and equal adjustment of the Vrigging on both trucks of thes'ystern -to vensure correct brake' shoe clearance. f

Another Objectis to provide a single' adjuster so positioned as to permit regulation orv adjust,- rnent of the foundation rigging"A withV one operation, and which can 'be madeatthe side of kthe ton travel is visible duringvregulation.

A still further object is to provide a regulator adapted for insertion in the pull rod in connection'between the oating cylinder 'and dead levers of the foundation rigging and which in operation will function to-lengthen or shorten the pull `rod to regulate the slack in the system,v the adjuster and its operating rod incorporating a slip fit to permit operation of the same from vthe sidey of the car. p Y K A further object is to. providev an adjuster of the class described which will embody novel means to prevent inadvertent actuation of the same by 'the vibration of the car. y Y

I With these and other objects in view, the invention may consist of certain novel features 'of construction and operation as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out vin the specification, drawings and claims appended hereto.

In the drawings which illustratean embodiment of the device, d j Figure l` is a plane view of the underframe of a railway car showing a portion of the foundation brakevrigging having the present invention associated therewith;

Figure 2 is an elevationalview of the adjuster Voi the present invention;` Y d u I p Figure 3 is a sectionalview taken horizontally of the adjuster shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an elevational view of a modified form of adjuster; VFigure 5 is a horizontal sectional View through the adjuster shown lin Figure4;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional View taken sub-` adjuster against movement;

stantially through the center of the adjuster shown'in Figure 4 ;A j

Figure 7 is a detailed view showing one form of means for locking the operating Figure 8 is a Adetailed view of another formof locking means with the operating rod being shown journaled in the side frames;

rodfor the l Figure 9 is an elevational view of the Vadjuster shown in Figure 2 showing another Vform of means forv preventing inadvertent rotation of the same;

Figure 10 is a horizontal sectional viewoi an adjuster similar to that shown linli'gure 2 n equipped with a'modied arrangement for preventing inadvertent rotation of device.

The linvention is shown as applied to the foundationrigging of va railway car consisting of connected by transverse members 12. The

rigging consists in a pressure cylinder 14 having l associated therewith kthe air reservoir 15` andk bein'g'sui'tably supported from one of the center sills .byV brackets'l. The 'pressure'cylinder 14 actuates a piston to which is secured thehollow piston rod 17, which has in turn associated therewiththe pushlrod 18 pivotally connected at 19 to the cylinder-lever 20 supported from the 'centersills by the supports 21. Y* To the extreme outer end of the cylinder lever is pivotally secured a top rod 22 which connects with thej live lever of the brake rigging on the forwardftruck `to :cause-actuation of the same in response'to the' lactuation of the push rod.

. The foundation rigging also includes a oating lever 23 pivotally secured at 24 to the underframe of the car by means of the bracket 25 and 'having connection' at its other end. to a topvrod `2li-which vin turnrconnects with the live lever of thebrake rigging on the rearward truck. In standard rigging the cylinder lever 20 andthe floating lever 23 are pivotally connected at points `imiermediate their ends to a pull rod 2S lso that Vin operation of the rigging by outward movement of theY push rod 18 the cylinder lever will impart actuation to the top rod 22 and simultaneously through pull rod 28 to the floating lever 23v mannerthe brake rigging on both trucks are y simultaneously actuated.

v car wheels soon causes the brake shoes to wear with the result that the clearance between the brake shoe and the Vcar wheels is increased causing an increase in piston travel to apply the vtoA actuate its associated vtop rod 26.v In this Ving engagement.

brakes. To maintain an ideal piston travel requires frequent adjustment of the brakes as new brake shoes must be applied at various times to replace worn ones necessitating adjustment of shortened to take up the slack in the braisev rigging on the trucks. The adjuster is located in this pull rod since this rod has the least travel when the brakes are applied, is positioned substantially centrally of the car and by shortening the rod the brakes can be adjusted equally on the forward and rearward trucks.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3 the adjuster 'is shown as comprising an adjuster housing having a bore extending therethrough with threads provided on the interior surfacevof the adjuster at portions 31, for receiving the threaded ends 32 of sections of the pull rod 2S. In applying the adjuster to brake rigging the pull rod 28 has a portion removed and the ends are threaded so that they can be lconnected to the adjuster housing bybeing threaded to the portions 31 of the same. In those cases where it is necessary vto lequip rigging already in operation on a railway car the adjuster is provided with the members 32 forming short extensions of the same, the extensions being adapted to be suitably welded tothe separated portions of the pull rod. In either case the adjuster housing 30 functions as a turnbuckle on the pull rod as the threads at one end are right hand while those at the other are left hand so that rotation ofthe housing will cause Y the threaded portions 32 to either be .retracted within the housing or to travel outwardly of the housing to, in effect, shorten or lengthen the pull rod. Formed integrally with and positioned Ycentrally of the housing 30 is a bevel gear 33f'and a thrust collar 34 which positions on the. housing a split gear housing 35. The gear housing is suitably joined by means of rivets 36 and provides bearings for journaling the housing 30, and also a bearing for journaling the shaft 37 having formed integrally therewith the collar 38 and the bevel pinion 40. The gear housing `thus rota- Vtively mounts the housing 30 provided. with the bevel gear 33 and the shaft 37 provided with the bevel pinion 40 and maintains the gears in mesh- As a stop for limiting the outward travel of the threaded portions 32 of the pull rod the housing has suitably threaded to each end the caps 4l provided with openings in their end wall through which the rod projects.v

Theroperating means for rotating the adjuster housing 30 includes an operating shaft 42 of Vsquare cross section which isoperatively associatedwith the shaft 37 provided for the purpose with a bore extending from end to end and also of square cross section. The operating shaft 42 .has one end inserted in the square bore provided Yin shaft 37 and has its other end mounted in the side frame of the car by means of a spool 43 which is suitably pinned to the operating shaft by the cotter pin 44. Rotation of the shaft is accomplished by fitting to the projecting end of the same a crank handle 45, adapted to be rotated by the brakeman when it is desired to adjust the rigging.

By the construction of the gear housing it will be seen that the operating shaft can be raised or lowered to any angle to suit various side sills since the height of these sills from the rails differs on the various classes of oars. As shown in Figure 7 the side sill in this modification is provided with a depending bracket 46 through which the operating shaft 42 projects while the showing of Figure 8 journals the operating shaft directly in center of theside sills. The shaft 37 is provided with the bore extending its full length for the purpose of forming a bearing for the operating shaft of` maximum length. This is very desirable since it is seen that the shaft 37 and the operating shaft 42 have a slip fit which permits the operating shaft to be withdrawn to the extent of several inches and still maintain operative connection so that rotation can be imparted to the pinion 4i). In operation, to apply the brakes to the car wheels the pull rod 28 has a limited amount of movement sideways as one end of the rod is pivotally secured to the lever 23 fulcrumed to the frame. Thus the movement of the housing 3i) which carries with it the shaft 37 is permitted with operative connection between shaft 42 and shaft 37 being maintained atrall times.

Referring to Figures 4, 5 and 6 a modified form housing 130 having threaded engagement at its ends with threaded portions 3.32 of the pull rod 28 and a split gear housing 135 forming the journaling means for the housing. VIn this case the housing has formed integrally therewith a worm gear 15G adapted to mesh with the worm 151 suitably journaled in the gear housing 135. .An operating shaft 142 has operative engagement with the worm 151 by means of the square bore provided in same which receives the square end of the shaftl The other end of the operating shaft is positioned in thev side frame or ina bracket depending therefrom as in the preferred modification and by rotation of the same the adjuster housing 130 is caused to rotate tol lengthen or shorten the pull rod-28. With the operating shaft extending beyond the side frame, permitting oper- .ation from the side of the lcar the operator has a clear view of the cylinder so that the extent of travel of the push rod 18 is visible during adjustment. Y

When thebrakes are in release positionvtension is removed from the adjuster housing so that the weight of the device is placed on the pull rod causing friction between the threaded ends of the rod and the threaded portions of the housing. It

vhas been found that this friction is sufficient in practically all instances to prevent inadvertent rotation of the adjuster housing by the vibration of the car, since any rotation would necessarily have to revolve the long operating shaft 42 which requires considerable effort. However, in order to ensure that the adjuster housing will not rotate to cause inadvertent lengthening or shortening of the pull rod, thel invention'contemplates the provision of weighted members formed integrally with the adjuster housing 30 and positioned between the gear housing and the end caps. VThe weighted members would tend to come to rest when in their lowermost position shown in Figure 9 and would thus tend-to prevent any rotation at the adjuster housing unless the same was definitely imparted thereto by actuation of the operating shaft.

In Figure l0 a form of locking means is shown particularly adaptable to the form of adjuster that is shown in Figure 3. The gear housing 135 is provided with a portion 155 forming a receptacle 157 for receiving a coil spring 158 and a Yof slack adjuster is shown including an adjuster 10() latch v160. The receptacle is so positioned that '150 provided with a pointed end it moves into and out of mesh as the bevel gear isV turned. Withv the parts at rest Vthe spring 158 is strong enough to lock the adjuster housing in adjustedposition' and prevent any inadvertent rotation of the same by vibration of the car.

One advantage of the form of operating means including the worm gear and worm shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6, is that this type is self locking, since the worm locks theworm'gears against turning and the adjuster housing cannot be revolved unless the worm is rotated through actuation ofthe operating shaft. An additional form of latching mechanism is shown in Figures 7 and 8 including a latch 61 pivoted to the side frames at 62 and having a jaw adapted to interit with the squared operating shaft 42. With the latch in lowered position engaging the operating shaft, rotation of the same is prevented and it is therefore necessary for opera-y tor to release the latch before adjustment of the rigging can be accomplished. v

I claim:

l. In foundation brake rigging of the character described, in combination, a cylinder and floating lever with connecting pull rod, means for adjusting said rigging including an adjuster located intermediate the ends of said` rod, and

an operating shaft therefor having a slip i'lt with the adjuster to permit movement of the same during application of the brakes.

2. In foundation brake rigging of the charac-f `rod to limit their outward travel.

located intermediate the ends of said rod, said adjuster having threaded connection with the separated portions of said rod, and an operating shaft having a slip fit with the adjuster to `permit movement of the same with respect to the shaft. f l 3. In foundation brake rigging for railway vehicles, in combination, a cylinder and pull rod operatively associated therewith, means for adjusting said rigging including an'adjuster interposed in said pull rod for varying the length of said rod, an operating shaft having a slip fit with the adjuster to permit movement of the same with respect to the shaft, and means mountingthe other end of the shaft in the side of the vehicle, whereby the operator may have a View of the cylinder during adjustment.

4. In a regulator for foundation brake rigging, a pull rod, an adjuster housing positioned intermediate the ends of said rod and forming a turnbuckle therewith, a gear provided on said housing, a second gear meshing therewith, a gear housing for journaling said second gear, and an operating shaft having a slip t with the second gear.. n

5. In foundationbrake rigging, in combination,A a cylinder and iioating lever with connect-` ing pull rod, means for adjusting said rigging including an adjuster located intermediate the rod,-the opposed ends of the rod being enlarged 105 in diameter and threaded for connection with the j adjuster, an operatingshaft for rotating the adjuster, and end members secured to the adjuster for engaging the enlarged threaded ends of the HARLEY E. ANDERSON. 

